Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake

This Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake has a moist pistachio sponge lightly infused with cardamom and saffron, finished with a floral rose glaze.

It’s always pistachio season over here. There is never a reason or justification needed for a pistachio based dessert.

So let’s make a show stopping Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake that’s guaranteed to impress a crowd. It’s worthy of being a celebration cake or even something to grace your holiday table.

Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake

This bundt cake breaks down into two components. First we have the pistachio sponge which is soft, moist, and nutty. It’s also lightly infused with saffron, cardamom, and vanilla. All flavours that work with pistachio incredibly well.

We’ve then got a rose glaze that’s vibrant, perfumed, sweet, and floral. It’s a great finishing touch along with some chopped pistachios and dried rose petals.

This is the bundt tin that I use

Pistachio and Rose are one of the best flavour combinations

Nutty, sweet, and floral. Works like a charm every time and they’re popular flavours amongst South Asian and Middle Eastern desserts.

Rose can be overpowering, so I always feel like less is more. You want just a hint of it as a finishing note.

Homemade pistachio milk is the secret to this Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake

We’re making a homemade pistachio milk for a little extra boost of pistachio flavour. We’re just making by blending pistachios with milk. For this recipe we don’t need to strain the milk through a cheesecloth like you would with a traditional nut milk.

The pistachio pulp within the milk is going to give us extra richness and moistness here.

Pistachio and Rose are the main flavours, but we also have saffron and cardamom

To add a little extra flavour, I like to add ground green cardamom and a little pinch of saffron. These are more subtle but work well with the pistachio and rose.

However if you didn’t want to use those, you could absolutely leave the cardamom and saffron out.

If you love these flavours, you should check these recipes out too

• Pistachio and Rose Kheer
• Baked Pistachio Kulfi Cheesecake
• Pistachio Kulfi Milk Cake
• Pistachio Barfi
• Pistachio Kulfi Pancakes

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Self raising flour – this works best for soft sponges in my opinion, the flour already contains an optimal ratio of raising agents. The results are consistently superior to plain flour/all purpose flour and baking powder combinations
• Pistachios – you will require unsalted pistachios here. For an extra hit of pistachio flavour, I do recommend peeling the skin off and toasting before blending however this is optional
• Ground flaxseeds/linseeds – I use these in almost all of my cakes, they add moisture and a small amount of binding. A lot of bakers use it as an ‘egg-alternative’ however I don’t personally see flaxseeds and eggs as interchangeable as the way they behave in baked goods is very different
• Cardamom – this is the green cardamom variety, not the black variety

How to remove the skins from pistachios (optional)

1) Start by soaking the pistachios in cold water for about 1-2 hours. This will soften the skin enough to just simply pinch off

2) Then you can pinch off the pistachio skins with ease

3) Pat all the pistachios dry

4) Then transfer them to a pan on a low heat and toast for around 10 minutes

The KEY tips to getting this Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake right

• Grease AND flour your bundt tin – bundt tins can be notoriously tricky when it comes to cake removal, especially for the more intricately designed ones. The one I use isn’t so intricate and hence a brush of butter and a sift of flour is more than sufficient
• Blend the pistachio milk till completely smooth – you’ll want to blend the pistachios and milk until completely smooth and the colour of the milk has changed. It shouldn’t feel gritty at all

How to make this Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake

First, how to make pistachio milk

1+2) Take your pistachios and place into a blender along with the milk

3+4) Then blend till completely smooth and the colour changes. No need to pass the pistachio milk through a cheesecloth for this recipe (as you would for other nut milks)

Now let’s make the pistachio sponge

1) Add the oil, sugar, vanilla, ground cardamom, and almond extract to a mixing bowl

2) Then add in the ground flaxseeds/linseeds mixed with water

3) Briefly whisk everything together

4) Then pour in the pistachio milk

5) Also add in the saffron infused milk (for a little extra hit of flavour and colour!)

6) Whisk everything together again

7) Next sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt

8) Whisk everything together till smooth – it shouldn’t take long at all. Try and avoid over whisking, that can lead to a tough and dense cake

9+10) Add in the chopped pistachios and then fold them all in till they’re well dispersed through the batter

11) To prepare your bundt tin, I highly recommend liberally greasing it with butter all over. Followed by a dusting of flour to ensure your cake comes out with ease after baking

12) Pour all the pistachio cake batter into the tin. Then tap on the counter 2-3x to remove any large air bubbles and place into the oven to bake

13) Once baked, allow the cake to cool for 25 minutes in the bundt tin

14) Then flip over on to a wire rack

15) Followed by a little tap all over to help remove the cake

16) Remove the bundt tin and allow the cake to cool completely. If you notice any cracks, place some cups/mugs/anything heavy around the sides of the sponge. This will prevent the cracks from widening as the cake cools. I’ve only ever had this happen once out of almost 50 bundt cakes, but worth noting!

Let’s finish with the rose glaze

1) Whisk together the icing sugar, rose syrup, and milk till completely smooth. I’d recommend adding the milk a little at a time to ensure you get the perfect consistency. You may need a little less or a little more milk

2) I opted for a thin crackly glaze, however you can reduce the milk in the glaze if you prefer a thicker finish

3) Place the cooled sponge on a wire rack with a tray underneath. Spoon over the glaze all around

4) Finish with chopped pistachios and dried rose petals. Then leave the cake to sit at room temperature for around 2-3 hours for the glaze to fully set

Frequently asked questions

Can this Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake be made vegan?

Yes, and very easily so. Just substitute the milk for a plant based milk. My recommendation would be soya milk as it is by far the best for baking and produces the best texture.

How long will the Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake keep? And what’s the best way to store it?

It will keep for 2-3 days at room temperature, and up to 5 days refrigerated. Store in an airtight container. If refrigerating, bring to room temperature before eating for best results.

What can we use instead of rose syrup for the rose glaze?

You can substitute the rose syrup for rose water as well as some pink gel food colouring (optional). If using rose water, gradually add a tsp of rose water to the icing sugar until you feel happy with the flavour. Then loosen the glaze with a small amount of milk only if needed.

Can we bake this Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake without a bundt tin?

This recipe will also make:

• 3×7″ round cake layers
• 2×8″ round cake layers
• 1×10″ round cake
• ~28 cupcakes

These will require the same baking temperatures but different bake times, which will likely be much shorter than the one stated in this recipe. Remove the cakes when a toothpick comes out clean.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy baking!

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